Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Massachusetts
being sued civil case- liability?
i worked for a contractor as an office manager which involved writing up and delivering contracts to clients, I also collected payments for the owner, the owner defaulted on several clients as well as myself and other employees, owes out big money, and now one of the clients is suing me for his money back. how can he sue me if the company belongs to someone else, am i liable for the money?
I have documentation that the business has nothing to do with me and i even had a contract between myself and the owner relieving me of any and all liability brought upon the company with regard to civil suit or action. So i guess my question is am i liable? i have to be at a case management meeting tomorrow regarding this case and it seems that the owner will not show up.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: being sued civil case- liability?
Retain an attorney immediately to represent you in the suit filed against you since you may have held yourself out as a principle or partner in your dealings with business customers, and the hold harmless agreement with the owner, if never published to the customers, only obligates the owner to indemnify you and may be of little value if the owner is bankrupt. Good Luck!
Re: being sued civil case- liability?
First of all, it is a little late for you to ask for legal advice since you are scheduled for court today. However, a case management conference is basically to set timelines for discovery, etc. and/or possibly attempt settlement.
Questions:
When you visited these clients, did you hold yourself out as the owner/principal of the company? Or, as an agent of the owner/principal?
Is the owner of the company named in the complaint?
If not, he/she needs to be added as a third party defendant and a motion needs to be filed to do so.
Do the plaintiffs have an attorney? If so, you may want to give him/her the document supplied by the owner relieving you of any and all legal liability. Make sure you bring this document to the court's attention today!
This forum is not equipped to give you full and proper legal advice. Based on the fact, we do not have privy to complete facts and documentation to review.
If you are interested, I do offer a free initial consult. Feel free to email me at [email protected] or call my posted number under my profile. Good luck!
Sincerely, Maria Murber
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